Super-guard joins your fight!

[KnownUnknown]

Ok this has come up across a couple pc's of mine that were in coded clans. Someone will attack me in an area protected by my clan npc's... lets say... The barracks. An npc clan guard jumps in and assists me, and the attack flees, oh... One south. My would be hero, stays put like "eh, jobs done" but the attacker is still in the barracks.

Couldn't they chase the attacker out of the clan owned space? It makes more sense.

I know the main arguement will be "what about all those times my noble accidentally brings his guard into the sparring area?"

Simple, instead of running one south, run out of the flipping barracks. You will be on run, they will be on walk, you can make the distance quickly.

[Marauder Moe]

I think NPC guards are already more than powerful enough.

[KnownUnknown]

I think NPC guards are already more than powerful enough.

This isn't about power. This is about a guy attacking you in the hall, then moving to your bunk room, and standing next to 4 other clan guards, and not being attacked.

[Talia]

This isn't about power. This is about a guy attacking you in the hall, then moving to your bunk room, and standing next to 4 other clan guards, and not being attacked.

You are welcome to wish up to staff for assistance when you think NPCs ought to be responding differently than they are coded to respond. There are reasons for the ways that NPCs are coded, and staff are often able and willing to help the world act more like it realistically should.

[Qeynos]

I think this would cause more accidental deaths than it would prevent unrealistic attacks.

[Armaddict]

I think this would cause more accidental deaths than it would prevent unrealistic attacks.

This is the danger.

Hence why what Talia suggested is kind of the 'goto' route.  Wish up and inform them of the situation, and most of the time if it makes a whole lot of sense, even a staff member who is busy will take a break to insure such things that are stupid don't happen.  Not to say it will 100% be answered, but it works fairly reliably.

[brytta.leofa]

I think this would cause more accidental deaths than it would prevent unrealistic attacks.

And not just in your own clan compound, depending on how things were coded.  Wait 'til your employer stops by to watch your extraclanular military training and brings along his Buff Autobodyguard of Doom.

True story.

[solera]

My pc was glad they didn't. Meant she lived to fight many more years after chucking a spear in the yard and by mistake hitting some old codger.   

[jriley]

I think NPC guards are already more than powerful enough.

This isn't about power. This is about a guy attacking you in the hall, then moving to your bunk room, and standing next to 4 other clan guards, and not being attacked.

No, it isn't about power.  It's about having good AI for NPC.  I get that.  Sure, what you're proposing makes good logical sense.  You're not crazy.

All the same, I agree with Marauder Moe that NPC guards do not require this sort of adjustment.

-1

[Gunnerblaster]

Nothing's broken. Leave it the way it is. The guards are there to ensure the peace is kept. If they break up the fight, one way or another, then the peace is kept. They aren't soldiers. If the harasser(s) want to keep it up, he'll jump in & whoop their ass again.

Simple, instead of running one south, run out of the flipping barracks. You will be on run, they will be on walk, you can make the distance quickly.

Otherwise, I don't want to be fleeing from an accidental attack only to get to the gates and have the gate guard go aggro on me, preventing me from leaving & initiating combat all over again while 2-3 other "vigilant" guards catch up and commence the slaughter.

/thread fail

[Talia]

Even "good AI" for NPCs would never be as good (subtle, nuanced, capable of seeing multiple options, capable of taking multiple courses of action) as a player's I is. That's why it's best to leave the NPC AI pretty dumb and simple, and when a player-level I is required, ask staff to jump in to provide it.

What everyone has said is true, if clan guard NPCs moved from room to room to hunt down wrongdoers within a clan compound (or elsewhere), wow would there be a lot of PC deaths, just from pure accidents. I have, in fact, been the horrified witness to PC deaths that happened much like this in places where NPCs weren't prevented from moving...and trust me, it adds zilch to the game or anyone's enjoyment thereof.

[Synthesis]

Possible fix:

1. Add auto-hunt tracking script as default behavior to guard-like NPCs in clan compounds.

2. Put limitations on auto-hunt:
     a) If the target is clanned, no auto-hunt (to prevent accidental deaths). Yes, this could be abused by people who are clanned and attempting to PK their own clanmates, but it's a compromise solution.
     b) Auto-hunt track is limited to the clan compound zone.  They won't "cross the border" into the city proper.  (This is to prevent angry guard NPCs from randomly showing up in the Gaj to jack people...although that would be fucking hilarious.)
     c) Higher-ranked PCs can order the guard NPCs to cancel the auto-hunt behavior.

No idea if any of this is actually feasible, but it's a simple AI tweak that would work relatively within the bounds of what's already available to work with.

[brytta.leofa]

In almost every situation I can think of, it would be better if clan NPCs could reliably subdue malefactors and hold them for questioning, rather than ultra-assist-dogpile-killing them.  Same goes for soldier NPCs, really.

Exception: 'gickers/half-giants/unstoppable evils?

[Sephiroto]

How do we feel about clan detention centers and clan-only wanted codes for NPC soldier-like scripts to apprehend people who get in fight-fights of clanned personnel and a separate script to throw unclanned from the compound.

A controversial fix to the oft failed NPC-subdue would be to raise their skills substantially to give them almost 100% success to all non-half-giants under non-magickal conditions.  This would reflect assisting from other NPC's and VNPC guards that are unable to interact due to coded limitations.

[Armaddict]

I've wanted clan crimflags for certain clans for a long time.

[Wolfsong]

How do we feel about clan detention centers and clan-only wanted codes for NPC soldier-like scripts to apprehend people who get in fight-fights of clanned personnel and a separate script to throw unclanned from the compound.

Some clans already have "detention centers" that serve no real function ATM - it'd be cool if NPCs could toss offending parties into, say, the cage in the Tuluki Byn compound.

[Reiloth]

I've wanted clan crimflags for certain clans for a long time.

Yeah, that'd be great.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I agree with the idea of changing the function of stationary clan NPC guards to subduers rather than killers, and with the idea of dentention rooms for each clan organized enough to have a compound or what-have-you. The exceptions are those NPCs used by nobles and the like. These NPCs should retain their killer instinct. However, if the person the clan guard is fighting is arrested, they should stop fighting. I have seen NPC clan guards dragged off to jail because they attacked after the raider was arrested.

[Gunnerblaster]

Set them with auto mercy on.

Easiest fix I can think of.

[Spoon]

Yeah. I always wondered why guards/soldiers would always kill outright every time. As for soldiers, it would be far better if there was a chance of them knocking you out and then dragging you to jail.